Am I being picky ? (1 Viewer)

Hi,

New to the forum, so Hi to everyone.

Avid bird watcher, nature and traveling, we have a very special holiday booked to as a treat for my son who completes important exams this summer visiting a number of safari locations in South Africa, also a wetland area to the north which has around 400 species of birds. I have a trusty old pair of Zeiss 8x30 bins that I have decided to replace.

After weeks of reviews, searches, justifying decisions and so on I decided upon Zeiss Victory SF 10 x 42 Black Edition - FOV, close focus and ergonomics ticked all the boxes.

I found a great January deal with 10% reduction. Received the bins last week.

Optically perfect, unbelievable, even wearing them walking the dog !!

However, I immediately noticed one issue - one of the eye cups stuck and would not adjust to all the positions, I do not wear glasses and it would not extend to the final position. I contacted the re-seller and they have arranged to a replacement pair of eye cups so sure this will resolve this.

I have a second minor but slightly annoying QC issue the rubber armour is not 100% glued on one barrel, clicks when you press down. This is very slight, but I keep pressing this area as I know it is there!

I have contacted the re-seller and they have said I can send back.

Question - Am I just being picky? or at the extremely high price should I expect perfection. It is only a minor area, I might even be able to glue myself. Optically they are perfect, no dust etc so it does not detract from my use.

I have read some other possible glitches with QC from Zeiss, should I just be happy with the pair I have got an enjoy them ?

Anyone else had a similar problem.

Steve

Hi Steve, welcome.

It depends how soon you are going on the trip.

If there is enough time, maybe ask the dealer to obtain a perfect specimen.

However, even with top end binoculars there is optics quality variation.
You may already have one of the best examples.
It may actually be difficult to know even side by side with another example.

It is actually up to you to decide.

I suppose you could send it back at a later date, after the trip, to have the rubber armour properly attached.
That might be the best option.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, don't go for 7 months so time is not an issue, rubber armour is probably not a big issue and there is a risk I could get a replacement pair that it optically not perfect, more likely a big of glue will fix it, though if I brought a brand new car and a bit of trim was loose I would take it back and expect it to be fixed under warranty.

Hi Steve,

first of all, welcome to BF!

I would not accept these minor flaws on a pair of alpha bins bought close to list price. This might be different for very cheap pair or for sth bought as a demo at a huge discount.

Joachim

If you ever now, or in the future, attach rubber armoring, do not use glue. Use VHB adhesive transfer film.

--AP

Welcome to Birdforum

jring said:

Hi Steve,

first of all, welcome to BF!

I would not accept these minor flaws on a pair of alpha bins bought close to list price. This might be different for very cheap pair or for sth bought as a demo at a huge discount.

Joachim

Click to expand...

Steve,

Welcome to the Binocular Forum. Regarding your new SF glass, I totally concur with what Joachim said. This is not $135.00 you have dropped on a Bushnell Legend, and you say to your self, its ok the view is nice, but the focus is a bit wonky, I"ll live with it.
I would look to replace, after all this is supposed to be a premium glass, so there should be no variation in the optics from one sample to another, right?

Andy W.

If there is one thing that even top binoculars don't do right, it's the rubber armouring.

I have seen many Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski with loose rubber. Mostly, this is because of heat / direct sunlight / laying in the sun in combination with birding in wet circumstances (every glue will become loose once).

But this shouldn't occur when you buy them new.

I am very very pleased with the build quality of my Zeiss Victory TFL, holding up well after 10 years, except for the rubber armour that also becomes loose. I had them serviced once and mentioned the rubber coming loose. Now, 4 years after that service, I can press out air again where they are a bit loose. The edges are not loose though (it's somewhere in the middle and you can't see it, and hardly feel it or you need to push gently in-and-out, but I guess after 20 years I will send them back once more so they can serve 30 years.

Definitely return it to the dealer and ask for another unit.

It sounds like the eyecup has received a knock at some point so the 2 or 3 components inside have been pushed out of position and locked.

Regarding the armour, do remember that it is required to be removable for service work to be undertaken so the glueing needs to be secure but not permanent. Also the underside of the armour on SFs is grooved so it is a series of 'rubber ridges' with grooves in between. This is to give it a cushioning effect in case of an impact and also to reduce weight, and it gives it a squishy feel which can make it feel loose when it isn't. Yours doesn't sound like this but you might check this out.

Lee

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback, I do agree with the sentiment, £200 or so and would live with it, but for the price I paid I would expect perfection. Problem is because I know it is there I keep pressing it!!!. The dealer is happy for me to send back and will arrange collection so think I will take them up on that.

Cheers

Steve

Perfect optics might just be hard to replicate....